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The Black Stallion

Synopsis

From the moment he first saw the stallion, he knew it would either destroy him, or carry him where no one had ever been before…

While traveling with his father, young Alec becomes fascinated by a mysterious Arabian stallion that is brought on board and stabled in the ship he is sailing on. When it tragically sinks both he and the horse survive only to be stranded on a deserted island. He befriends it, so when finally rescued both return to his home where they soon meet Henry Dailey, a once successful trainer. Together they begin training the horse to race against the fastest ones in the world.

1979 Me, who was only two years older than Kelly Reno and enjoyed this film strictly as a rousing boy's adventure, would surely be astonished to see 2016 Me openly weeping at the sheer beauty of the taming scene on the beach. Entire first half is delicately transporting, very close to perfect; one could perhaps quibble about the plausibility of a nine-year-old kid successfully feeding himself on a tiny island for three months, but that seems a tad churlish. The all-but-silent stuff is so glorious, in fact, that the film's abrupt shift into conventional underdog-sports mode in its second half feels almost like a betrayal. Which is a shame, because on its own terms, the second half is one…

Beautifully cinematic. Poetic and propulsive. Acted with nuance and tenderness instead of ego (and that includes a surprisingly quiet performance by Mickey Rooney). Never condescends to its viewers, young or old. Edited so perfectly, it is somehow both efficient and contemplative. Devoid of laborious exposition. Packed with iconic images. With the exception of one slightly annoying characterization*, it exists almost outside of time, without aspects that date when it was made. Alec, played with extraordinary restraint by Kelly Reno, remains one of the most naturalistic, convincing young boys I've seen in a movie; it's a performance that came to mind watching the boys in The Tree of Life (which I mean as a high compliment).

The Black Stallion is a mystical jewel of a film. Despite some instances of disconnected acting and craftsmanship amidst chaos that fundamentally fray around the edges, The Black Stallion offers a visually propelled abundance of mythic cinematic catharsis and disarming naivety set to spellbind young and old. It stands up to reputation as a mercurial slice of arty cinema for children, miraculously put together on a pittance budget, which boldly pursues dialogue-light visual diction, defies logic, praises classicism and touches upon greatness.

The Black Stallion pulls off the trick of making you feel young again, intoxicated by the vast, rich mysteries contained in the world around you. The most serene and unforgettable portion of the film is undoubtedly the marooned…

For the first hour Carroll Ballard's "The Black Stallion" is a deeply felt and poetic fairytale of a shipwrecked boy befriending a wild horse on a desert island, all beautifully filmed by Caleb Deschanel. Once the boy and horse make it make back to the United States, the film begins a long formulaic march to the predicable finale. This film would be a masterpiece if all the horse racing bullshit had been removed and ended 60 minutes in.

Have you ever seen a movie and wished that certain scenes would never end? That's how i felt whilst seeing the first half of this movie which is a perfect marriage of sound and cinematography. I had the same experience when i saw the first segment of Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train.Not a bad movie per se since the second half is the usual triumph against all odds which we all have seen countless times. I loved the relationship between man and animal.How can you not feel thrilled at the climax?

A beautifully shot, gorgeously composed movie that's powerful even when its intentions are muddled. The animal stunts dazzle, and the bonding scenes between boy and horse delight the heart while not sacrificing realism. I love that the stallion of the title is so wild and unpredictable like, well, a real animal. I like the first half better than the second, though I'll admit I was mightily impressed by the racing photography. It's proof family films need not sacrifice artistry for mainstream appeal.

Brilliant, exciting and well crafted picture, The Black Stallion is a unique film in terms of what it does with its subject. There have been many films with a horse as its plot device, but no other film has used that to greater effect than this film. The film starts off slow at a steady pace, and unravels steadily to make this a film that simply sucks you into its drama, its richness and terrific storyline. There are plenty of memorable things about the film, especially of note the final race, which is of course the finest moment of the film. The cast is well chosen in their roles, and the actor that plays the kid is quite good in…

really, really beautiful. also has too many broad racial stereotypes, the worst of which being a Scary Arab Man With Knife. Yikes. Really at its best when no one is talking. Also, the credits is on top of b roll which includes what might be the best shot in the movie.

One of the rare movies that achieves a magical atmosphere. Seeing it is like being carried on a magic carpet; you don't want to come down. (It may be the greatest children's movie ever made.) In this first feature by Carroll Ballard (as in his earlier short films and documentaries), the visual imagination that he brings to the natural landscape is so intense that his imagery makes you feel like a pagan-as if you were touching when you're only looking. His great scenes have a sensuous, trancelike quality: the movie is set in 1949, but it seems outside time. And this distilled atmosphere makes it possible for a simple boy-and- animal story to be transformed into something mythological. The boy's…

Film #6 of Scavenger Hunt 20 Task #4: A movie watched by Jimmy Carter at the White House Original List: letterboxd.com/jesushmacy/list/scavenger-hunt-20-community-picks-edition/

There's some great film making going on in this movie. The main kid is capable and even Mickey Rooney tones it down quite significantly. The story is about as straightforward as it can get once Black and his kid get back to salvation.

I admire the movie more than I liked it. Maybe it's that I've seen Seabiscuit and Secretariat and other horse-type movies before, but I just really couldn't get into it. The gorgeous cinematography and visual storytelling didn't do enough for me.

I don't usually like movies w/ horses (unless something terrible happens to the horse--which makes me feel like a sadist, but you probably know the films of which I speak). But Ballard handles this tale very capably and Rooney gives one of his better late-career turns.